header-logo header-logo

An Uber assessment

10 March 2021 / Charles Pigott
Issue: 7924 / Categories: Features , Employment
printer mail-detail
42002
Uber drivers may now be entitled to the protection of the working time & national minimum wage legislation, but not all gig economy workers will be able to establish claims for worker status, says Charles Pigott
  • The Supreme Court has affirmed the employment tribunal’s decision that a group of Uber drivers had the status of non-employee workers.
  • In doing so it has signalled a new approach to assessing employment status.

A small group of London-based Uber drivers started proceedings in the employment tribunal in 2015. Two of them, Mr Aslam and Mr Farrer, were selected as test claimants for a preliminary ruling. This was to establish whether they had worker status for the purposes of claims for the national minimum wage and for holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998, SI 1998/1833.

The two main respondents were Uber BV, a Dutch company which owns the rights to the Uber app, and Uber London Limited, its UK subsidiary, which holds the licence to operate private hire vehicles in London. The name

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Sports, education and charities practice welcomes senior associate

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Partner and head of commercial litigation joins in Chelmsford

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Firm strengthens Glasgow corporate practice with partner hire

NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
back-to-top-scroll